The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and starting left tackle Donald Penn have agreed on the parameters of a long-term contract extension, a league source said Friday. The sides have come to terms on the major issues of a deal, but they’re still working out some language, according to the source. Both Penn and his agent, Rocky Arcineaux, were en route to Tampa on Friday night, and they will meet with Bucs officials Saturday, when the lineman is scheduled to sign the deal. Penn hadn’t signed his restricted free-agent tender and didn’t plan on doing so. The new contract brings closure to a long-lingering issue of Penn’s future, as the sides had been working on an extension for well over a year.

Bucs in the News:

The Tampa Tribune has five potential surprise players for the 2010 Tampa Bay Bucs.

They also detail optimism in returning players including Barrett Ruud, who has Donald Penn’s back and there’s also a hilarious Sabby Piscetelli insult in the feedback.

Also from the Tampa Tribune, a preview of some of the positional battles.

The Ledger expects the defensive line to probably affect the rest of the defense…I’m not sure why they have Freeman ranked as the second biggest storylines. Everyone is eager for his development but if they don’t make the playoffs, it won’t be because of him.

The St. Petersburg Times previews training camp.

ESPN expose on Raymond James Stadium: worst vending food in the NFC South?

On the eve of the opening of the 2nd annual Camp Morris, let’s look ahead to the regular season and see what the big questions are for the 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

1. Will Donald Penn show up at camp so the O-line can resume gelling? This is a huge question because there is already some instability based on last year’s performance as a unit and the addition of Keydrick Vincent to push Jeremy Zuttah. The starting left tackle needs to be there as soon as possible.

2. In a return to the West Coast Offense, does the personnel fit the scheme? They really might want to put Clifton Smith and Derrick Ward in more often in this scheme to take advantage of each’s receiving ability. The newest acquisitions at wide receiver, Benn and Williams, should be able to bust out of tackles in the slant, a staple of the WCO.

3. Will the defenders do a better job of wrapping up? Residing in both New Orleans and Carolina, are quarterbacks, running backs and a few big-bodied receivers and tight ends you can ill afford to miss a sack opportunity with or allow to break out of a tackle. The run defense of Tampa Bay has been lacking ever since Monte Kiffin let the defense know he was leaving. They were tied for 26th in sacks last season, down from tied from 20th the year before. They did draft a pass-rushing defensive tackle in Gerald McCoy (and a second one in Brian Price) that could be a difference maker and open things up for other players.  Bringing in Sean Jones to move Piscitelli off the field more often should limit big plays.

4. Can Raheem Morris instill discipline in a young team? Last season, there were costly turnovers in close games though the majority of Freeman’s INT’s were partly due to playing in a large hole. Additionally, they are adding some players with off-the-field baggage to a locker room that had to deal with Aqib Talib’s run-in with the law right before training camp last year. This discipline needs to extend down through the positional coaches. When you are dealing with what are considered Measurables Monsters in Josh Freeman, Talib, Mike Williams, Gerald McCoy, and Myron Lewis you don’t have to coax the occasional amazing out of them but rather train them to be consistent in route-running, blocking, recognition and timing.

5. Will “going green” work in the Bucs’ favor or continue be their undoing? The Bucs are headed by a an under-40 general manager, a second-year 33 year-old head coach, and a fifth-year offensive coordinator with a quarterback going into his first season as the declared starter, For the last six weeks of the season, the Bucs defense was 9th in scoring defense with 17.7 points allowed. The darker definition of the acronym NFL is “not for long”, and when the standard set by Gruden was a Super Bowl, fans are not going to sit around year after year and wait for them to be competitive. Before they were dismantled from the top down and replaced with young blood, the Bucs were competitive in the six seasons after their Super Bowl win. It’s fortunate that their first three picks are pretty pro-ready and are probably upgrades despite their lack of experience. I’m not big on chemistry in general, let alone when it involves the age of players. I do think that a younger motivational coach, particularly one who’s played, can sometimes identify with younger players better. Hopefully, Raheem can get his message across loudly.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers reduced their list of unsigned 2010 draftees to one Thursday when they agreed to terms on a four-year contract with seventh-round pick Cody Grimm, according to Grimm’s agent, Eric Metz. Grimm’s signing leaves only first-round draft pick Gerald McCoy unsigned, but the chances of McCoy signing before Friday’s training camp reporting deadline were starting to look slim as of Thursday afternoon. Grimm, the son of Arizona Cardinals assistant coach Russ Grimm, played linebacker and safety at Virginia Tech and is expected to serve the Bucs primarily on special teams during his rookie season.

Brought to you by Gillette’s Ultimate Summer Job winners, Adam and Jason
(To follow Adam and Jason during their road trip across the country, check them out at ProGlideSummerJob.com and on Twitter @proglideUSJ)

Mike Wallace, WR Pittsburgh Steelers – With the loss of Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets this offseason and the aging (yet uber-reliable) Hines Ward, sophomore Mike Wallace has the opportunity to be the Black & Gold’s deep threat and overall stud. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger set personal records last season in passes attempted, passes completed and overall yards passing, so the time-tested Steeler philosophy of grinding out games on the ground and smash-mouth defense may be slowly altering on the offensive front. Wallace reminds us of the AFC-version of DeSean Jackson, with explosive speed and great hands to tout.

Devin Aromashodu WR Chicago Bears – The bears are coming off a disappointing 2009 season and are looking to come out of the gate firing in 2010, with a newly revamped offense that has key additions such as Chester Taylor and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Aromashodu has a strong chance to break out and glide as an emerging star of the NFL this year. He’s a great route runner and is a few inches taller the Johnnie Knox and Devin Hester, in turn making him Megan Fox appealing in the end zone. Not to mention, however, the fact that Martz is now calling the shots in Chi-town and we all know how much he loves having a QB with a cannon for an arm. His success may hinge on Jay Cutler’s TD/Interception ratio, but he should find multiple red zone targets due to his height and physicality.

LeSean McCoy RB Philadelphia Eagles – Not really a shocker here, but when Brian Westbrook went down with a serious concussion last year no one picked up the slack more than LeSean. He rushed the ball 155 times for 637 yards and 4 touchdowns while also racking up 40 receptions for 308 yards. Those numbers sound shockingly similar to a healthy Westbrook (not a bad player to mold your career around). The other factor that landed McCoy on this shortlist is that the Eagles, for the first time in at least a decade, will be led by a QB not named Donovan McNabb. This may change head coach Andy Reid’s game plan to a run first pass second philosophy.

Chad Henne QB Miami Dolphins – Last year Chad Henne had a great breakout campaign when veteran Chad Pennington went down. In 14 games he racked up nearly 2,900 passing yards with a respectable 60% completion percentage. Those numbers don’t normally stand out to the naked eye but when you add quite possibly the league’s best receiver in Brandon Marshall (to a receiving core that already touts Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess) the Dolphins could have something brewing in South Beach. It’s also worth noting that Henne will be throwing in a system that has recently driven defensive coordinators crazy due to the trickery involved in their running game/overall offensive scheme.

Early Doucet, WR, Arizona Cardinals – With the departure of star wideout Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens, Doucet has an opportunity to star as a slot receiver in the Cards offense. Losing Kurt Warner won’t help his numbers, but Doucet has a similar frame of Boldin and can most likely make some noise against opposing defenses that need to focus on (and double team) perennial Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald. While Doucet’s teammate Steve Breaston is projected to start across from Larry Fitzgerald, he’s ultimately an unproven wideout showcasing online flashes of brilliance and consistency. Doucet’s time to shine is now to prove he’s a reliable target, especially in the red zone.

The Bucs don’t plan on having any meaningful discussions with Donald Penn about a contract extension before training camp. The prolonged impasse means the Bucs starting left tackle isn’t expected to report with players on Friday. Penn, 27, missed all the Bucs’ voluntary offseason workouts and the mandatory minicamp after refusing to sign a one-year, $3.168 million tender as a restricted free agent. The Bucs reduced the offer to 110 percent of his 2009 salary, a loss of about $100,000. Penn, who has started 44 games at left tackle, attended the team’s Fanfest in Tampa last month and met briefly with general manager Mark Dominik and coach Raheem Morris.

In Detroit, Matthew Stafford showed people enough that the fans are starting to believe they finally have an answer at quarterback. Same goes for Jets’ Mark Sanchez. As for Freeman, the third of three first-round picks in the 2009 draft, the Bucs did a good job to get Freeman 10 games of action last season, which he desperately needed. The problem now is that the Bucs haven’t done as good a job as the Lions and Jets of surrounding their young QB with offensive talent. That means that Freeman (and the Bucs fans) must be patient. Fortunately, Freeman is a kid with his head on straight and has a good family foundation to get him through tough times. But there’s no question, it’s going to be a test.

Battleground: Tampa, Florida
Position: Wide receiver
Players in the mix: Arrelious Benn(notes) (6-1, 219, rookie), Mike Williams (6-1, 221, rookie), Reggie Brown(notes) (6-1, 197, 6th season), Michael Clayton(notes) (6-4, 215, 7th season)
Frontrunner(s): Benn and Williams
Better Value: Williams

Benn was the higher draft pick, but will he emerge as the No. 1 target in Tampa?

Analysis: The departure of wideout Antonio Bryant via free agency has left a big hole on a Tampa Bay offense that ranked 11th in the league in pass to run ratio last season (58.1%). The Buccaneers responded by signing free agent underachiever Reggie Brown and drafting Arrelious Benn (Illinois, 2nd round) and Mike Williams (Syracuse, 4th round) this past April. As we always say in situations like this, somebody HAS to catch the football in Tampa.

Owners can go ahead and take both Brown and Michael Clayton off their draft boards this summer. With a combined 11 years of NFL experience between them, we’ve already seen all there is to see. Brown has scored just five touchdowns over the last three years and has topped 50+ receptions in a season only one time (2007). Clayton hasn’t looked much better, having scored only three touchdowns over the last five years. He also hasn’t topped 500+ receiving yards in a season since his rookie year in 2004.

That leaves Benn, who posted a disappointing 38-490-2 stat line at Illinois last season and Williams, who quit the Syracuse Orange at the beginning of November despite leading the Big East in receiving. Both rookies bring several question marks to the table which is why they have both been assigned late-round draft grades. However, someone has to emerge as the No. 1 target for second-year quarterback Josh Freeman and we’re giving the edge to Williams entering camp.

Coming Sunday in The Tampa Tribune, an investigation of the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers brings home a national story: Generations of former NFL players struggle with the long-term mental and physical consequences of the game they love.

A team of multimedia reporters and photographers spent months compiling and distributing a survey to the 1979 Bucs about their playing careers, injuries and current health. The reporting team — Tampa Tribune columnist Joe Henderson, NFL writer Ira Kaufman, health reporter Mary Shedden, veteran sports writer Joey Johnston, News Channel 8 reporter Jeff Patterson and photojournalists Bob Hansen and Cliff McBride — also conducted extensive follow-up interviews and a five-player roundtable discussion.